Monday, June 24, 2013

If you haven't noticed already, there is a countdown on the left of this post until I officially move to Chicago! I can't believe it's happening. It started out as a little girl's dream that one day she would live in a big city, and in (place current count down number here) she will!

As much as I wish time would go by just a little bit faster, I don't want to end up in a position where everything just flew by me and all that is left are fading memories of the greatest days of my life.

Today I decided to write down a few things that I am grateful for. Everyone should do this exercise, whether you do it every night or once a week, you should make an effort to pick up a pen and a piece of paper or a notebook and write down all the things you are grateful for. You don't want to be the person that knows the value of what they lost, after they have lost it.

I'm going to try to write down a few things that other people can relate to.

What I am grateful for (in no particular order):1. An education - My parents didn't have to give me an education as far as they did. Given it is required by law that all children go to school, they didn't have to pay for my college education and push me to educate myself for my own sake.

2. Family members - As much as they can be a pain in your feather pin (Tweety Bird reference), they mean you well (for the most part). Not all family members, but most of us can count on our immediate family to provide us with (tough) love and well wishes. Yes, you will fight and yell and want to pack your bags and leave, but if they really didn't love you, you wouldn't be where you are now, that is to say you are in better position that Tweety here.

3. A bed / sleep - I assure you that everyone of you is grateful for this, unless it is infested with bed bugs. Shared or not, it's what keeps you alive and rejuvenates you to keep you going everyday.

4. Your friends / significant other - Whether you have a significant other is not what is important. It's about who is willing to love you and care for you. We don't function very well in isolation, so be thankful that you have people who keep you sane (or not).

5. Feelings - The ability to feel emotions such as happiness, love, and all those other wonderful feelings is something we should be grateful for. There are things we take for granted, and this is one of those things.

6. Food!- We are so lucky to have food to eat anytime we want and to be able to buy the not only the food that we need but food that we want as well. We get to sleep with full tummies every night and wake up to the thought of a balanced breakfast. Not everyone in the world can afford food like we do.

7. Our present day technology - Through the ingenious work of scientists and engineers and people who realized that necessity is the mother of invention, we have been able to make our lives easier and easier everyday. We have the ability to learn online and research any topic that interests us through sites like Google. It's not often that we thank our stars for the technology we have like cars, phones, computers, etc. But we owe a lot of what we know today to those people that took the initiative to do what others couldn't.

8. Police, EMT, firefighters & doctors - Without the help and protection of these people, we wouldn't live to the average age that humans currently do. A lot of people may hate cops, but they are doing their duty to keeping citizens within the limits of the law. In the past so many people have suffered with ailments and other issues such as fires and accidents due to the lack of organization of hospitals, police stations, etc. I know that it's sometimes hard to accept this due to terrible things that can happen to loved ones, but remember that these people didn't decide to take a normal 9 to 5 job and come home to their family like everyone else. That's pretty noble don't you think?

9. Books - Books are something I'm really grateful for. It's so incredible how a book can take you out of everything you know and put you in a world and through adventures and knowledge that keep us learning something new everyday.

10. Jobs / Job opportunities - As much as people say finding a job is hard, a lot of us find it fairly easy to pick up a job and complain about it. We are so lucky to have any job opportunity because without it, we wouldn't the money to get what we want and take care of ourselves and the people we love.

There you have it, a basic list of the things I am thankful for. I hope you found that you are thankful for these things as well and more!

I hope you decide to write a journal about everything you grateful for, even the little things like gum or dust bunnies. I don't know why any of you would be grateful for dust bunnies, but if that is what you are grateful for, write it down!

To answer the question from the last post: My favorite book(s) growing up were the HARRY POTTER series!

The reason why this was my favorite book growing was was because when I was about 7 years old, I was in a Marshal Fields sitting with my parents while they bought furniture for our new house. I was so bored but I didn't complain, but my mom went to a book store that was inside the store and she picked up this book, wrote in it and handed it to me. It was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I fell in love with it and it's what pushed me to keep reading. I actually struggled with reading for a long time, and this was a book that made me understand the joys of reading. Thank you, mother & thank you, J.K. Rowling.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Moving is a BIG task, my little birds. So much to do, so much to remember. I guess this is what is is like to be a "grown-up." Wrong.

I am anything but grow-up, that is if I go by the societal definition of what an adult is. People can call me an adult and tell me that I've grown to be a wonderful young lady, little do they know, that in my free time I watch Spongebob and sleep without a care in the world.

I actually don't sleep without a care in the world. You know those teachers that ask you (redundantly, of course), "Don't you stay up at night, wondering about these things?" I can honestly answer yes to that question. I do actually stay up wondering about various questions that enter my mind, fortunately it doesn't last all night.

One of the questions that enters my mind quite frequently is, when exactly, does one turn from child to adult? Is there a specific point? A literal second? Are there a series of steps or tasks to complete before you graduate to adulthood? I don't know if anyone says, "Ah, I completed my very first set of taxes, and today I am an adult." Ugh. I don't want that to be what determines my adult-tude-ness-ism. Why does being an adult mean that you have to be serious about life? Why do adults have to "settle" down? I hate that word, settle. It makes it sound like the world is over, there is nothing left to do, so you give in to the ways of the world and just watch it. Nope, I won't accept it.

To me, being an adult is (obviously, not what I am), but letting go of arguments that get people nowhere, sincerely forgiving someone who hurt you, thinking before you act, prioritizing what is important, accepting and taking responsibility for your actions, being able to stand up for your values and what you believe in, and not forgetting to smile.

Being an adult, does NOT mean to be rude, look down upon others, forgoing your principles, or to think your seniority demands respect.

Being an adult is not based on your age, the amount of money in your pocket / bank, the kind of job you have, the size of your house, the price of your material possessions, or the level of your education.

Unfortunately being an adult also has a negative connotation to it, because of how people portray the life of an adult: boring, exhausting, unhappy, etc.

However, one of the biggest perks of being an adult, is the ability to make your own decisions, take responsibility for them and to chase after your dreams and ambitions for as far as you can take them.

So remember, my darlings, being an adult isn't a bad thing, it's being the best you can be and helping people to being the best they can be.

It is time for me to take responsibility for my actions, and apologize for skipping so many weeks. Life gets busy. I promise to try to write as often as I can.

To answer the question from last time: The craziest dream that has ever come true is my acceptance to UIC. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I know that getting accepted was the start of a my life as an individual and it's the first of many dreams to come true.

By the way, my title refers to how my television show habits have evolved. The most grown up show I watch is Game of Thrones, and the least is probably Spongebob Squarepants.

This week's question:

What was your favorite book growing up?

Be good! Much love.

P.S. I want to thank my special someone, for pushing me to write this week and for giving me his input on this subject.